NMC Horizon Report > 2014 Higher Education Edition

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26 NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Higher Education Edition Competition from New Models of Education Difficult Challenge: Those we understand but for which solutions are elusive New models of education are bringing unprecedented competition to the traditional models of higher education. Across the board, institutions are looking for ways to provide a high quality of service and more learning opportunities. Massive open online courses are at the forefront of these discussions, enabling students to supplement their education and experiences at brickand-mortar institutions with increasingly rich, and often free, online offerings. At the same time, issues have arisen related to the low completion rates of some MOOCs. As these new platforms emerge, there is a growing need to frankly evaluate the models and determine how to best support collaboration, interaction, and assessment at scale. Simply capitalizing on new technology is not enough; the new models must use these tools and services to engage students on a deeper level. Overview With free, high-quality content accessible via the Internet, both formal and informal online learning is on the rise, which some fear could dampen the appeal of higher education institutions. MOOCs are currently dominating discussions about alternative forms of education. The term massive open online course, coined in 2008 by Stephen Downes and George Siemens, came into broad use in 2012. Since then, MOOCs gained public awareness with a ferocity not seen in some time. Worldrenowned universities, including MIT and Harvard University (edX) and Stanford University (Coursera), as well as innovative start-ups such as Udacity, jumped into the marketplace with huge splashes, and have garnered a tremendous amount of attention and imitation. The notion of tens of thousands of students participating in a single course, working at their own pace, relying on their own style of learning, and assessing each other’s progress, has changed the landscape of online learning. A number of respected thought leaders, however, believe that the current manifestation of MOOCs has deviated from the initial premise outlined by Downes and Siemens when they pioneered the first courses in Canada. They envisioned MOOCs as ecosystems of connectivism — a pedagogy in which knowledge is not a destination but an ongoing activity, fueled by the relationships people build and the deep discussions catalyzed within the MOOC. That model emphasizes knowledge production over consumption, and new knowledge that emerges from the process helps to sustain and evolve the MOOC environment. Despite their philosophical distinctions, one aspect that contemporary MOOCs share is that there is little common ground in any of this landscape. Each MOOC example puts forth its own model of how online learning should work at scale. While this new form of learning has immense promise, pundits are troubled by MOOCs’ low completion rates — 5-16% overall. In Udacity’s Introduction to Programming MOOC, for example, only 14% of the 160,000 enrolled students actually passed the course. What makes this Simply capitalizing on new technology is not enough; the new models must use these tools and services to engage students on a deeper level. challenge more difficult is that while MOOCs were widely embraced in 2012, 2013 brought a major sea change in attitude. After these initial statistics were published, many turned skeptical about how engaging these learning environments actually were. Critics warn that there is a need to examine these new approaches through a critical lens to ensure they are effective and evolve past the traditional lecture-style pedagogies. Adding to the challenge is that many stakeholders see competition as threatening to the very notion of public universities and colleges, which complicates the exploration of alternative models and strategies. Implications for Policy, Leadership, or Practice The reach of MOOC providers and their free offerings has called the value of degrees and certificates into question. If one can learn online from some of the best instructors in the world for free, what can more
Difficult Challenge 27 traditional institutions offer that can compete? According to recent stories in The New York Times and by CBS, there is a growing number of students concerned about what they are actually getting in exchange for the tremendous costs of their education. Average university tuition is already steep (and rising), along with the costs of student housing and travel to and from physical campuses; MOOCs present an appealing alternative, especially for graduates who are already in the workforce and looking for fast-track professional development opportunities. One of the foremost policy challenges is determining how to weave in formal credits to these new online experiences. In one notable experiment, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the Purdue University Department of Music and Arts Technology offered a MOOC that could be converted into credit. The sixweek course covered the music of western civilization from 600 AD to the present and was delivered with full translation features, rich media, and social networking tools integrated. Most institutions are now investing in the development of similar online courses and producing content that will entice potential students to enroll for formal credit. However, some early for-credit experiments demonstrate that the appeal of formalized online learning may not be as broad as initially thought. In the fall of 2012, Colorado State University-Global Campus became the first college to offer credit to students who passed a MOOC if they registered and paid a fee. A year later, not a single student had taken advantage of the offer. Furthermore, in January 2013, San Jose State University partnered with Udacity to develop a for-credit course, but early results were mixed, and the effort was put on hold. One of the biggest challenges for institutions is to find a way to design for-credit MOOCs that are both costeffective for students and transcend traditional teaching practices. Many instructors who facilitate online courses are discovering that using rich media and incorporating plentiful opportunities for interaction are key. One prime example of an effective online course that is organized around the original connectivist model is the digital storytelling course at University of Mary Washington, which anyone can take and has now been adapted at several other institutions. They are currently exploring how to give credit to incoming high school students who complete it. For Further Reading The following resources are recommended for those who wish to learn more about competition from new models of education: Can Virtual Classrooms Beat Face-to-Face Interaction? go.nmc.org/face (Libby Page, The Guardian, 13 November 2013.) The trend toward online learning has many questioning if education will become an impersonal experience that will leave learners isolated. In this article, a number of experienced educators share their insights. The Disruptive Business Model for Higher Education is Open Source go.nmc.org/opso (Brian Reale, OpenSource, 15 October 2013.) This article argues that if higher education providers focus on talent identification, the payoff for universities will come not from selling courses but rather from finding and nurturing talent and receiving payback in the form of contributions to their endowments. Educational Model Change Rattles Teachers go.nmc.org/rat (Chelsea Davis, The World, 16 October 2013.) The University of Wisconsin is introducing a competencybased alternative education Flex Option that only costs $2,250 for three months of “all you can study” access with the possibility of finishing a degree in three months or moving at a slower pace, depending on personal preference. Employers Receptive to Hiring IT Job Candidates with MOOC Educations go.nmc.org/rece (Fred O’Connor, PCWorld, 9 December 2013.) This article contains examples of students furthering their education through MOOCs to help them land new jobs or change directions in their careers. The Future Is Now: 15 Innovations to Watch For go.nmc.org/now (Steven Mintz, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 22 July 2013.) A shift in the way students consume higher education is challenging traditional colleges to become more nimble and student-focused. Higher Education: New Models, New Rules go.nmc.org/mode (Louis Soares, Judith S. Eaton, Burck Smith, EDUCAUSE Review Online, 7 2013.) Three essays what needs to change in the current education system to enable an education model that incorporates outcome-driven pedagogy, ubiquitous access, and cheaper tuition.
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